


if i had a heart

by thewriterofperfectdisasters



Series: Shameless Halloweenie [3]
Category: Shameless (US)
Genre: Alternate Universe, M/M, Siren!Mickey
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-11
Updated: 2014-10-11
Packaged: 2018-02-20 18:11:58
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,601
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2438192
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thewriterofperfectdisasters/pseuds/thewriterofperfectdisasters
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ian let out a small noise of astonishment, and the siren looked directly at him. He had piercing blue eyes, and in that moment, Ian thought he had never seen anything more beautiful. He wondered idly if that was the siren getting into his head, or if it was his dick getting excited over what was essentially a fish.</p>
<p>Jesus fucking Christ. Does it count as bestiality if it has human features? He was gonna have to sit down and have a serious think about this later.</p>
            </blockquote>





	if i had a heart

**Author's Note:**

> wow okay so this turned out longer than i wanted. i was hoping to end it at about 3k. and look how well that worked. anyway, i'll stop procrastinating firebird now. i had this idea in my head for ages, and now i've written it, so we good. there'll be at least two more parts in this series though, so idk. look out for those. (or don't.)
> 
> title comes from the song of the same name by fever ray, which, incidentally, is the theme song to vikings. (something you should watch because VIKINGS HELL YES.)

Ian had gone on a whim.

Lip had a spot on a research vessel going to the Bermuda Triangle, as part of the robotics team that was sending little submarine things to the ocean floor to study currents or something. A member of the crew had dropped out last minute, so there was a place that needed to be filled, and Lip had offered it to Ian.

Ian didn’t actually know what the hell Lip was doing, but when he was told they were studying ocean currents, they had lied.

Well, they hadn’t been lying for very long, because Lip had asked Ian to join him on the boat on Thursday, Friday they flew out to Florida, then on Saturday morning, they had set sail from Jacksonville to what was roughly the middle of the triangle.

The first night on the boat – it was more of a ship, actually – Lip had come into Ian’s cabin, and sat down on the desk opposite his bed. ‘I’m gonna be completely straight with you, man,’ Lip said, nodding to the bed for Ian to sit on.

Ian sat down and narrowed his eyes at his brother. ‘What do you mean?’

‘The only reason I offered the spot to you is because you’re ex-military, so a background check was easy to get,’ Lip explained. ‘You have no training for this, but we were a man short, and you were easier to clear than a civilian.’

‘Why should it matter if I was in the military?’ Ian asked, raising an eyebrow suspiciously. ‘What are you doing on this trip?’

‘Not studying ocean currents,’ Lip laughed. ‘That’s for sure.’

‘I don’t care about what you’re studying, Lip,’ Ian rolled his eyes. ‘Why am I –’

‘We’re looking for mermaids,’ Lip interrupted.

Whatever Ian had been about to say died in his mouth. ‘You what?’

‘Mermaids,’ Lip repeated. ‘Sirens, more specifically.’

‘Are you high?’

‘No. No, I’m not. A few months ago, a fishing boat caught one, but it never made it to shore,’ Lip frowned. ‘Not alive, at least. The DNA deteriorated rapidly, and by the time it got into a lab, the sequences were destroyed, and nothing was salvageable.’

‘So – what?’ Ian asked. ‘You’re here to hunt for mermaids?’

‘Sirens,’ Lip corrected. ‘But yeah.’

‘What’s the difference between a siren and a mermaid?’

‘It sounds cooler, and the lab guys don’t get touchy on the subject,’ Lip coughed. ‘Also, the crew of the fishing vessel that caught the first specimen reported seeing sirens that appeared both masculine and feminine as they came back to land.’

‘They were followed by _mermaids_?’

‘ _Sirens_ ,’ Lip said exasperatedly.

‘Lip,’ Ian said, clasping his hands together. ‘This is insane. You realise that, right? How crazy this sounds?’

‘Yeah, I do,’ Lip nodded. ‘You have to trust me on this, Ian. They’re real, and you’re here because I trust you. If you speak about this to _anyone_ not on this vessel without government permission, you will be sentenced for treason and spend the rest of your life in prison.’

Ian’s jaw dropped. ‘Lip! What the fuck? So I’m supposed to keep quiet about this?’

‘I have. Besides, who the fuck is gonna believe you?’

‘Conspiracy theorists?’ Ian sighed in frustration. ‘Wait, why the fuck are _you_ here? You’re not a biologist.’

‘Ah,’ Lip laughed awkwardly. ‘The sirens seem to be able to communicate on a certain frequency that’s not picked up by radars, or something. From the information gathered by the lab team in Washington, they managed to figure out what it was, and uh. I built the device that picks up their frequency. And modified a couple of robots so they can be deployed to the sea floor and give us a location. That sort of thing.’

‘Holy shit,’ Ian said quietly. ‘We’re hunting mermaids. Like, actually _hunting_ them? For research?’

Lip nodded. ‘Yeah.’

‘Fuck, Lip. That’s against about five hundred different morals and ethics and shit,’ Ian shook his head. ‘I don’t want to be part of this.’

‘Too late,’ Lip shrugged. ‘You’re here now, and you’ve gotta pull your part.’

‘What exactly is my part?’

‘You, uh. You’re on mermaid wrangling.’

‘I’m _what_?!’

‘Yeah.’

‘You know I’m just gonna let it go, right?’ Ian asked, raising his eyebrows in a challenge to his brother.

Lip leaned forward and spoke quietly, ‘You compromise this mission in _any_ way, and you will be imprisoned. Do you understand?’

Ian withered under his brother’s gaze. ‘Yeah.’

‘Good,’ Lip sat back in his original position. ‘We all do things we don’t want to, but at least this pays well. We good?’

‘Yeah. Good.’

‘Great. We start hunting tomorrow,’ Lip said, sliding off Ian’s desk. ‘Get some sleep. Gonna be a long day.’

‘Okay,’ Ian nodded. ‘Night, Lip.’

Lip nodded as he shut the door behind himself, leaving Ian’s cabin.

Ian flopped onto his bed and stared up at the metal ceiling above him. ‘Shit.’

 

* * *

 

As it turned out, mermaid hunting was boring as shit. A couple of boats went out to deploy the echolocation beaker robot things – whatever the fuck they were – while Lip dropped the main one from onboard the ship.

They turned on the monitors and started piloting the little robot around the seafloor, trying to find something to bounce the signals off, while small boats went to investigate anything suspicious. The coordinates were relayed from the main ship – where Ian and Lip were – to the other boats by radio, and everything so far had come back negative. Just rocks and lumps of coral.

‘Lip,’ Ian said, sitting beside his brother, watching little blips on the screens in front of them. ‘Do the bot things send _out_ frequencies? Or do they just pick them up?’

Lip frowned. ‘They send them out, too. Why?’

‘Did it ever occur to you that you could send one out, and see if you get anything back? Maybe that way if there’s anything even _out_ there you could find them more accurately by imitating one of their own?’

‘Could do,’ Lip said, flicking a bunch of switches, and typing stuff on a screen beside him. ‘Unlikely they’ll respond.’

‘Worth a shot, though?’

‘Worth a shot,’ Lip agreed. ‘Why’re you suddenly so intent on helping find them?’

Ian shrugged. ‘The sooner you don’t find anything, the sooner I can go home. Likewise, if you do find something, I can stop thinking my brother has run off with the fairies.’

‘Don’t be ridiculous, Ian,’ Lip chided. ‘Fairies don’t exist.’

‘Used to say the same thing about mermaids.’

‘They’re _sirens_!’ one of the techs yelled from the small lab bordering their command room. ‘Not fucking _mermaids_!’

‘Shut up, Owen!’ Lip called back. He tapped his headpiece and spoke into the microphone dangling next his mouth. ‘Okay, command sending out a pitch in 3, 2, 1,’ he pressed enter on his keyboard and a green light turned appeared on one of his screens. ‘Stand by for potential return frequencies. Over.’

‘And now we wait?’ Ian asked, sitting back in his chair.

Lip shrugged. ‘Pretty much. Send out a frequency every now and then until we find something or get a return pitch, I suppose.’

‘Great,’ Ian muttered.

 

* * *

 

They had been sitting in the command room for hours. Seven, to be exact. Seven hours. The sun was setting on the horizon, and they had been sending out frequencies every twenty or so minutes, with nothing returning. The echolocation thingies hadn’t picked up anything that wasn’t coral, a rock, or a large school of fish, and the entire crew was feeling very disheartened.

_Blip._

‘What was that?’ Ian asked, looking at the screens he didn’t understand for a change he wouldn’t be able to recognise.

_Blip._

‘Who’s sending out a frequency?’ Lip said into his earpiece. He listened to the response and said quickly, ‘Don’t give me that, who the fuck is sending it out?’

_Bliiip._

‘Who’s pitching?’ Lip asked again.

_Blip._

‘No one is sending out the frequency, sir,’ one of the other mechanical techs said. ‘Everything is set to receive.’

_Blip._

‘So that means...’ Ian trailed off and glanced at his brother.

_Bliiip._

‘Yeah,’ Lip nodded, typing rapidly on his keyboard and flicking his eyes between the different screens. ‘Something is returning the frequency.’

_Blip._

‘It sounds like it’s getting agitated,’ Ian commented.

_Blip._

‘It sounds like a fucking “blip” to me.’

_Blip._

‘Send out a return pitch, Lip,’ Ian said. ‘See what it does.’

‘Sure?’

_Blip._

‘Pretty sure,’ Ian nodded.

‘If you’re sure,’ Lip twisted his microphone back towards his mouth. ‘Command sending out a frequency in 3, 2, 1.’

The green light flashed on Lip’s screen again, and he quickly turned his little bot things back onto receive.

_Blip blip._

‘Shit,’ Lip breathed. ‘Ohhhh _shit_.’

‘What is it?’ Ian asked, moving forward to look at this screen his brother was apparently transfixed on.

‘They’re at the sensor,’ Lip said. ‘We’re fucking screwed.’

‘Where’s the sensor?’

‘Directly beneath us,’ Lip shook his head. ‘They’ll figure out it’s a trap.’

‘Not if we catch one first,’ the boat’s captain said, finally entering the conversation, after sitting silently at the back of the room for so long. ‘I’ll get some men out, and we’ll see if we can get one.’

Lip nodded once. ‘I’ll try to keep them in place.’

‘How the fuck do you intend to do that?’ Ian asked.

‘No fucking clue,’ Lip murmured. ‘Absolutely not a single fucking clue.’

 

* * *

 

‘Sir,’ a tech cried, bursting into Lip’s command room. ‘The men onboard have got one.’

Lip spun around in his chair. ‘What?’

‘Cap said to get you. They’ve caught a siren.’

Lip and Ian glanced at each other, before Lip shed his headset, and sprinted off after the tech, Ian hot on his heels. They ran up onto the deck to find about fifteen men surrounding something they had cornered on the deck. Several were holding nets, and a few had electric cattle prods.

‘Back the fuck off!’ Lip barked, striding through towards the crowd. ‘Give it some space!’

There was an indignant noise from somewhere in the crowd, and the people backed off, waving their nets and prods dangerously.

Ian managed to follow Lip right up to the inside of the circle, and he stopped dead. ‘Holy fuck,’ he breathed.

On the deck was a mermaid – siren. Whatever. It had masculine features, so it was what one would assume to be male, and had short, dark hair. His pale skin shimmered with small patches of deep lapis coloured scales – his shoulders, biceps, down his chest, and probably across his back as well, though they were significantly lighter than his tail.

Oh God, the _tail_. It was probably at least three times the length of his torso, and blended subtly at the waist from skin into scales. There was a ridge along the back of the tail, with small spikes towards the bottom.

Ian let out a small noise of astonishment, and the siren looked directly at him. He had piercing blue eyes, and in that moment, Ian thought he had never seen anything more beautiful. He wondered idly if that was the siren getting into his head, or if it was his dick getting excited over what was essentially a fish.

Jesus fucking Christ. Does it count as bestiality if it has human features? He was gonna have to sit down and have a serious think about this later, but right now, all Ian wanted to do was help the siren get back into the fucking water, because he was pretty damn sure that keeping a fish out of water was a shitty idea – especially if it was meant to be studied, and the cells deteriorated quickly.

Which led to another problem. Ian thought this fish was really fucking attractive, and soon, its brain would probably in a jar in the lab. _Oh fuck no._

‘Lip, you need to put it back,’ Ian said quickly and quietly. ‘Put it back in the fucking ocean and tell your superiors or whatever that we couldn’t find one.’

‘Ian, we’ve talked about this,’ Lip hissed. ‘We get the thing and we fuck off back to Washington. You’re not a member of PETA or some shit, leave it the fuck alone.’

‘Lip, I won’t –’

‘Ian, shut the fuck up.’

‘Lip, let it go.’

‘Yeah, Lip. Let it go,’ a deep and unfamiliar voice said. ‘Leave it alone.’

Ian and Lip, along with the rest of the crew, turned to see the siren studying them from its corner on the deck. It had an eyebrow raised, and its arms across its chest.

The siren cocked its head and said, ‘The fish speaks.’

Lip looked like he was going to lose his eyeballs from his head, and God knows Ian had enough experience talking to potentially hostile strangers, so he took the reins. ‘Do you understand everything we’re saying?’

‘I look stupid to you?’

‘No, and that’s the issue,’ Ian muttered. ‘Got a name?’

The siren shrugged. ‘You got a name?’

‘Ian.’

‘Weird name.’

‘What’s yours?’

‘Mikhailo.’

‘That’s a mouthful,’ Ian commented. ‘We don’t want to hurt you –’

‘ _You_ don’t, but _they_ do,’ Mikhailo interrupted. ‘Like I said, I’m not stupid.’

‘Yeah, no, I’m definitely getting those vibes,’ Ian said, crouching beside the siren’s waist. ‘There’s nothing I can do right now,’ he murmured lowly. ‘But if you cooperate, this will be less painful for you.’

‘What are they going to do to me?’ Mikhailo asked quietly.

‘Honestly, I don’t know, but I’ll do what I can release you before anything happens.’

‘How do I know I can trust you?’

‘You don’t.’

Mikhailo nodded. ‘Okay.’

Ian nodded back and stood as a bunch of guys came over with a large case of water, in which Mikhailo would be carried down to the lab. Ian watched the siren haul himself into the box, his tail slapping against the water, as he visibly relaxed, now he was back in his element.

‘Good job, brother,’ Lip murmured, slapping Ian on the shoulder. ‘That’s the kind of mermaid wrangling I wanna see.’

Ian jerked his shoulder out of his brother’s reach and shook his head. ‘Don’t.’

‘If you wanna play it that way,’ Lip shrugged. ‘Don’t make eye contact with it, but you’re on mermaid duty.’

‘Doing what?’

‘Watching it? Making sure it doesn’t escape?’

Ian rolled his eyes. ‘I’m sure a humanoid fish wouldn’t get that far without someone noticing. And if it did? I’d be concerned about the quality of your staff,’ he said, turning and walking below deck to get to the lab.

 

* * *

 

The one thing Ian was okay with about this whole “mermaid hunting” thing was the fact that the containment tank wasn’t small.

The research vessel they were on had either been specially built, or modified for the purpose, because the dual level lab was dominated by a large tank. As in, a tank the size sharks were kept in at aquariums.

The bottom of the tank was covered in a mix of pebbles, coral, sand, and plants, to try and keep the tank looking... homely, Ian supposed. In one corner, there was an industrial sized filter and aeration rock to keep the water oxygenised and prevent it from going stagnant by simulating ocean currents. There was also gentle backlighting that would dim and brighten with the light outside to keep up the siren’s natural circadian rhythm.

Ian made it into the lab just as the guys carrying Mikhailo made it in on the level above. He watched them step onto the gangway around the edge of the tank and put it down, arguing about the best way to get the siren into the tank.

Ian rolled his eyes and ran up the stairs to come up behind them and clear his throat loudly. ‘There a problem?’

The two men jumped, and turned around. Their eyes were wide, and Ian didn’t know what the fuck that meant – were they scared of him or something? ‘No, sir,’ the shorter one said. ‘We don’t exactly know how to get the mermaid into the tank.’

‘I’m not a fucking mermaid,’ Mikhailo said loudly.

The pair looked uncomfortable hearing him speak, and had apparently decided to ignore him, so they kept talking. ‘We can’t tip the box or anything, because that won’t work, and we can’t just leave the mermaid sitting here to look at the tank.’

‘Did it ever occur to you to go to the access ramp and help Mikhailo out?’ Ian asked, raising his eyebrows. When the pair just blinked at him, he decided to test out whatever power he apparently held over them. ‘What are you waiting for? Get to the damn access ramp!’

‘Yes, sir!’ the men said, picking up the box again, and carrying it towards the access ramp and steps on the other side of the tank.

Obviously they were only on the boat as muscle, not brains, because the access ramp and ladder into the tank were connected to a large platform that was over the top of the filter and aeration system, because that way, the siren would be able to spend time out of the water as well. They stopped at the platform, and put the box down.

The taller one avoided making eye contact with Mikhailo as he said, ‘Get.’

‘Get what?’ Mikhailo asked. ‘You want me to fucking leap outta this damn box like a show dolphin or something?’

Ian bit back a laugh. ‘Are you two just gonna stand there?’

‘We ain’t touchin’ that,’ they shook their heads.

Ian huffed and made a shooing motion with his hand. ‘Get the fuck out of here.’

‘Sir, what are you –’

‘What am I going to do? What you two dipshits won’t,’ Ian snarled. ‘Fuck off.’

The two men nodded and all but sprinted from the gangway, and out of the lab.

Ian turned to the siren. ‘Would you be okay with me carrying you into the tank?’

The siren shrugged. ‘Do I have a choice?’

Ian smiled. ‘Not really.’

‘Then yeah, I suppose that’s fine.’

‘Great,’ Ian said. He went over to the entrance onto the platform and opened the gate, pinning it back on the surrounding fence, and yanked his shirt off over his head as to not get it wet. He decided to take his shoes off as well, because it looked like he was going to end up walking into the water. ‘Okay, put your arm over my shoulders,’ Ian ordered, crouching next to the box and putting one arm around the siren’s back.

‘Sure you can carry me?’ Mikhailo asked.

‘One way to find out,’ Ian replied, scooping up the siren’s tail with his other arm. He could feel the bone – or was it cartilage? Fish were mostly cartilage, right? – of the siren’s tail, and the ridge along the back was pressing uncomfortably into his arm, but he lifted it up anyway, and nearly staggered backwards with the weight. ‘Fuck,’ Ian muttered. He took a few steps forward, and made it to the gate without falling over. ‘This better not be slippery or we’re both dead,’ he said, stepping onto the platform. The stone was rough beneath his feet, and the water went only up to his ankles.

‘You need to go in deeper,’ Mikhailo said. ‘Not much, maybe up to here,’ he moved his tail to touch Ian’s knee. Fucking weird feeling. Like seaweed when you’re in the ocean.

‘Knee deep?’ Ian asked.

‘Is that what that’s called? A knee?’

‘Yes?’ Ian asked, confused. ‘You’re saying stuff like “fucking” and you don’t know what a knee is?’

Mikhailo grinned, showing off a full set of slightly pointed teeth. ‘Nah, I’m fucking with you. Knee deep is fine.’

‘Okay,’ Ian murmured, taking a few more steps on the sloping rock. He went up past his knees in the water, and closer to mid-thigh, before he stopped. ‘Here good?’

‘Yeah, thanks,’ Mikhailo said, swishing his tail in the water that was lapping gently at them. ‘Just bend a bit.’

‘You’re not gonna drown me or something, are you?’ Ian joked, bending down to lower Mikhailo into the water.

‘No,’ Mikhailo replied, rolling his eyes. He flicked his tail and dove into the deeper waters, away from Ian.

‘Great, okay, bye,’ Ian muttered, turning around and walking back off the platform. He dried off with a towel he found on a close by shelf, and dried off his legs and chest. He picked up his shirt with the intention of putting it back on, before he was interrupted.

‘You should leave it off,’ Mikhailo called from the centre of the tank.

‘Huh?’ Ian asked, frowning as he turned back to him.

‘The shirt,’ Mikhailo explained. ‘You should leave it off. It’s a good look.’

Ian grinned. ‘Thanks, but uh. My brother will get pissed off if I do.’

‘Why?’

‘Doesn’t like that I look better than him,’ Ian shrugged. ‘Little brother showing up the older brother, or something.’

‘Boohoo,’ Mikhailo said, rolling his eyes and sinking back underwater.

‘Are you still there?’ Ian called, frowning out at the water.

‘Where the fuck else would I be?’ the siren asked, appearing at the edge of the platform and pushing himself up to sit on the edge.

‘Good point. Can I ask you something?’

The siren narrowed his eyes and tilted his head. ‘Not gonna ask me how I have sex, right?’

‘No, no. Though I would be interested to find out,’ Ian mused. ‘I was wondering why your vocabulary is so...’

‘Current?’

‘More or less.’

Mikhailo shrugged. ‘Land ventures.’

‘Land ventures?’

‘Yeah. Get some dirt on me and I grow a pair of legs. It’s weird not having a tail,’ he said, wrinkling his nose.

‘So what,’ Ian said, leaning against the barrier. ‘You grow legs, go on land, and walk around listening to people talk?’

Mikhailo grinned again. ‘Something like that.’

Ian rolled his eyes. ‘Great. I gotta go find my brother. What do you eat, by the way?’

‘Fish, mostly.’

‘Isn’t that cannibalism?’

‘Excuse me?’

‘Never mind,’ Ian shook his head. ‘I’ll be back later.’

‘I’ll still be here,’ Mikhailo replied, sinking under the water.

 

* * *

 

He should’ve listened to Mandy.

She _told_ him not to go check out the distress call, to just let someone else handle it – but as usual, Mikhailo thought he knew better than her. He was wrong, obviously, and no doubt she would laugh at him if she ever found out.

When. _When_ she found out. That fire haired man had said he would help, hadn’t he? He better get to it, because Mikhailo could feel it in their energy that the others had nothing but malicious intent towards him, even in the slightest degree.

The man, Ian, had given the impression he wanted only to help. He had a pure soul, despite being slightly marred around the edges, but he wasn’t evil. He didn’t want to be there any more than Mikhailo did, and besides, even if Ian _had_ found a way to fool Mikhailo – which was incredibly unlikely – then it wasn’t like Mikhailo had any other choice but to trust him.

And now, here he was. In a fucking tank. On a boat. Going to land.

Hopefully not to get his brain cut out, but the possibility was there.

Mikhailo needed to get off this fucking vessel, and he needed to do it soon. Tonight. By whatever means possible.

 

* * *

 

Ian waited until everyone had left the lab.

Lip, in particular, seemed rather fascinated by the siren, and stayed long after the other team members, watching as Mikhailo ignored the fuck out of them, and swam around his tank, hovering close to the top of the water, and hiding behind the larger plants and rocks. Eventually, Lip got bored and went to bed, but that was at nearly two in the morning.

Ian snuck out from his place, hiding under a desk at the top of the tank, and whispered loudly, ‘Mikhailo?’

The siren smiled to himself and rose from the waters. ‘Yes, Ian?’

‘How much dirt does it take for you to get legs?’

‘What?’

‘Dirt. Legs. How much?’ Ian repeated.

‘Not much,’ the siren replied, swimming closer to the edge of the platform. ‘Why?’

‘Because I don’t wanna fucking carry you to the fucking ocean, Jesus,’ Ian replied. ‘I got some dirt from plants around the ship, so come here.’

‘Why am I getting legs?’ Mikhailo asked, raising an eyebrow and allowing himself to sink slightly into the water again. ‘Are you helping me escape?’

‘No, I want to see if you grow a dick,’ Ian rolled his eyes. ‘ _Yes_ , I’m helping you get out.’

‘Hmm,’ Mikhailo swam closer and onto the platform. ‘Don’t be lying to me.’

‘I’m not,’ Ian said. ‘How does this work?’

‘Open the gate and help me out of the water.’

Ian nodded, and did as he was asked, stepping into the water to lift Mikhailo out. ‘Do you want me to just put you down here?’

‘Not gonna make a difference,’ Mikhailo murmured, frowning as he was placed on the metal gangway. ‘This is kind of painful. Get me that dirt.’

Ian passed him the box of soil he had collected, and watched Mikhailo toss is over his tail. The scales dissolved, and became flesh coloured. The tail split slowly, and morphed into two pale legs and feet. ‘Woah,’ Ian murmured.

‘Cool, huh? Help me stand,’ Mikhailo said.

Ian reached a hand out, and pulled the siren into an upright position. ‘Oh, you’re not in clothes,’ Ian said, looking up and away from the completely naked siren.

‘Wow, that’s a surprise. I wasn’t wearing clothes before either, and there’s no point putting some on now.’

‘Good point. You okay to walk?’ Ian asked, putting an arm around Mikhailo’s waist to support him.

‘We’ll have to see about that,’ the siren replied. ‘Where are we going?’

‘Right,’ Ian murmured, leading them out of the lab. They went quietly through the corridors, and after a few minutes, ended up on the deck of the ship. ‘Should I get a boat or something to get us into the water?’

‘You have a platform on the back of this ship, right?’ Mikhailo asked, nodding towards the back end of it.

‘I think so,’ Ian replied. They walked to the end of the boat, and went down the short flight of stairs onto the platform. ‘So...’ Ian said, watching as Mikhailo grinned and stepped off the platform into the water. ‘Okay, cool. Bye,’ Ian muttered, turning around and preparing to climb the steps.

‘Ian?’ Mikhailo called from the water.

Ian turned back and crouched on the edge of the platform. ‘Yeah?’

‘Thank you,’ Mikhailo smiled, showing off his pointed teeth. ‘Can I give you something?’

‘I suppose,’ Ian said suspiciously.

Mikhailo swam closer to the platform, and rose up out of the water a bit. He beckoned Ian closer, and ran his fingertips over his cheek. ‘Thank you,’ he repeated quietly, pulling Ian’s head closer, and placing his lips gently on the human’s.

As he moved away, Mikhailo saw a strange glint in Ian’s eyes. ‘Take me with you,’ Ian whispered.

‘Take you where?’ Mikhailo asked.

‘I don’t care,’ Ian replied.

Mikhailo bit his lip. He hadn’t planned on doing this, yet here Ian was, offering himself up. ‘Okay,’ Mikhailo nodded.

Ian shucked off his shoes and shirt, and slipped into the water, feeling Mikhailo’s arm wind around his waist. ‘Thank you,’ Ian said quietly.

Mikhailo smirked by way of an answer and kissed him again, sinking down into the water, his grip on Ian never loosening.

**Author's Note:**

> interpret that ending as you will.
> 
> [tumblr](http://im-not-his-keeper.tumblr.com/)


End file.
